Cafeteria Worker Fired for Feeding Poor Hungry Students

One woman's effort to provide lunches for students in need of sustenance has landed her in the unemployment line.

Della Curry, a married mother with two kids, was fired from her job as kitchen manager at Dakota Valley Elementary School, in Auroro, Col. after she gave lunches to students who didn't have money to buy the meals for themselves.

A student in a family of four earning less than $31,000 gets a free lunch, while a reduced lunch goes to students in a family making less than $45,000. Curry says she wound up coming to the aid of children who needed help, noting, "Kids whose parents make too much money to qualify, but a lot of times they don’t have enough money to eat."

Under federal law, kids who don't quality for either program are entitled to a slice of cheese on a hamburger bun, along with a small milk, which Curry says is simply not enough.

Curry is not backing down from her actions one bit, saying, "I’ll own that I broke the law. The law needs to change" and "I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Curry also hopes her story can be a catalyst for improving the system. "If me getting fired for it is one way that we can try to change this, I’ll take it in a heartbeat," she said.